A 27-year-old farmer from the Faridkot district of Punjab’s Malwa region is gaining laurels for cultivating a rare purple potato variety and selling it as a high-value crop. Gurjot Singh, a progressive farmer from the Matta village, started experimenting with the rare purple potato variety after seeing purple potatoes for the first time at a retail shop in Chandigarh. “We used to see purple potatoes at premium stores in Chandigarh and other states, and they were being sold between ₹300/kg. However, the purple potato variety was not available in the routine markets of India until then,” he states.
Gurjot Singh imported 20 kg of purple potatoes seeds from Bolivia in 2022 and started experimenting to check whether the purple potato crop could thrive well in the Indian climate, and to his surprise things worked well.
Gurjot adds that the crop does not require a lot of care as it has a thicker external layer than normal potatoes. This also makes it longer-lasting. Gurjot also added that this variety is completely natural and not genetically modified.
The farmer adds that purple potatoes are gaining attention among dieticians and nutrition experts in cities such as Delhi, Pune and parts of South India because they are packed with nutritional value. Compared to regular potatoes, they contain lower carbohydrates and calories but are extremely rich in antioxidants, which is why they are crowned as a “superfood”. Gurjot also mentions that the variety also comes in handy for use in certain neurological treatments.
As per Gurjot, the crop can earn between ₹6 lakh to ₹20 lakh per acre depending upon the quality of the crop. The cost of cultivation is also low, ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 per acre. The previous season, he had cultivated around 200 quintals of seed potatoes per acre. The crop was sold at around ₹5,000 per 50 kg bag. Even when other potatoes were selling at around ₹2 to ₹3 per kilo, this variety was selling at around ₹28 per kilo in the wholesale market.
Even though there are a number of benefits of ‘purple potato’, Gurjot shares that knowledge about it remains limited in India which is why he is exploring other export opportunities as well. However, he also adds that the produce has nevertheless received good prices in Indian mandis as well. Gurjot encourages other farmers to experimentation with new crops that can open up news opportunities, but keeping the unrealistic expectations aside.
